Comeback stuns Wildcats

Saturday

Oct 19, 2013 at 5:11 PMOct 19, 2013 at 5:11 PM

By Phillip Morgan

pmorgan@hillsdale.netWhat began as an epic homecoming night for the Pittsford Wildcats, ended in a crushing loss.The Wildcats led 22-6 near the end of the third quarter, but the Bellevue Broncos came all the way back, and won the game in overtime, 36-34. Going into the game, the Wildcats had to win out in order to reach the playoffs."We are definitely disappointed," Pittsford head coach Mike Berger said. "On the same token, Iím really proud. Iím proud of the kids. Iím proud of the coaching staff. We played hard."Pittsford running back Trent Brackman, who finished with 180 rushing yards, four touchdowns, 14 tackles, and was crowned homecoming king, said little mistakes cost his team."We just made some mistake that were critical at the time, thatís what lost it for us," Brackman said.The Broncosí and the Wildcatís offenses moved the ball early, but neither team put up any points due to the physical play of the defenses.Late in the first quarter, Brackman broke free for a 15-yard touchdown run.Tyler Stinchcombís interception along the far sideline, with two minutes left in the first half, put the Wildcats back in the redzone. With only ten seconds left, Hollis threw the ball over the middle, Brackman laid out, and hauled in a touchdown catch with only a second left in the first half.Gavin Caskey ran in the two-point conversion.Bellevue opened the second half with a long touchdown run, as their lightning-quick running back Tyler Lane took off and left the Pittsford defense in the dust."He was a great player," Brackman said of Lane. "He had a good game."The Wildcats countered on the very next possession. Brackman took off on a long run of his own, a 75- yard gain that put Pittsford inside the five-yard lane. At the nine minute mark, Brackman pounded the ball across the goal line. The four-yard touchdown run was his third score of the contest.Wyatt Price score the two-point conversion on an end-around, making the score 22-6.With two minutes left in the third quarter, Lane was removed from the game after he took a rough hit and drew a personal-foul flag. 20 seconds later, Lane came back in only to be removed after another personal foul. Lane tried to leave the field on his own power before dropping on all fours. His teammates carried him off the field.Laneís injury put a fire in the Broncosí belly.Broncos quarterback Gerald Roberson dumped the ball to wingback Ethan Block, who ran the ball across the goal line.On the next possession Block forced a fumble, and the Broncos took over on the Wildcatís 37-yard line.To the surprise of everyone, Lane reentered the game at the close of the third quarter."Heís a real warrior," Berger said. "Heís tough. Our kids kept hitting him and hitting him good."Going into the final twelve minutes, Pittsford maintained a commanding 22-12 lead.The Broncos tried to beat the Wildcat secondary with deep pass to start the fourth quarter. Free safety Wyatt Price hung back and made the pick, the second interception of the game for the Pittsford defense.With just under seven minutes left, Roberson, again, went to Bloch. Hollis maintained tight coverage, but Bloch out jumped the defensive back and pulled down the pass for a 25-yard gain. From the five-yard line, Lane scored on a sweep.The Broncos scored the two-point conversion bringing the score to 22-20.With a narrow lead, Brackman went back to work. Cutting through the line of scrimmage and breaking toward the far sideline, Brackman picked up 32-yards and put the Wildcats in the red zone. Hollis finished the drive on the next play, as he went 30 yards on a beautiful quarterback sneak and scored the ball.The Broncos kept it a one possession game, as they prevented the conversion. With six minutes left to play, Pittsford led 28-20.Defensive lineman Aaron Schaedler came up with a big sack with four minutes left, but a pass interference by Hollis on the ensuing play put the Broncos on the Wildcats 20-yard line. Bellevueís Darren Sommers scored on a 15-yard touchdown run. Tyler Lane ran for the two-point conversion, knotting the scored at 28.Neither time could score before time expired, and homecoming went into overtime.Each team would get an opportunity to score from the 10-yard line.The Broncos scored first and Robeson snuck in the two-point conversion.Suddenly, the Wildcats had their back against the wall, down 36-28.Hollis gained 9 yards on the first play, before Brackman scored his fourth touchdown of the game.The Wildcats could not get the two-point conversion, as the Broncos penetrated the line-of-scrimmage, ending the game, 36-34."We had opportunities," Berger said. "We just didnít quite get it done. It doesnít change the fact I am proud of my kids."Zach Hartman finished with 13 tackles. While, Levi Hollis passed for 90 yards and ran for a touchdown. The Wildcats are 4-4 heading into the last game of the season.